In a country renowned for spectacular food, Italian desserts truly follow suit. Rich, creamy and full of flavor are just a few of the words used to describe this cuisine. From classic tiramisu, cannoli, biscotti and espresso, Italian desserts are a great way to end any meal...not just an Italian one.
Italian bakeries are famous for their delicious pastries and desserts. A quick trip to a local Italian specialty market will surely impress. Like with all Italian cuisine, it's the way they blend flavors and textures together that make all the difference.
The attention to detail is also impressive, especially in their Italian desserts. The decorations and icing found on items from a true Italian bakery will make you understand why they are truly considered to be pastry chefs.
Italian Desserts...
Cannoli Dessert
It is believed that cannoli is originally from the Palermo region in Sicily. Different sizes of cannoli are available. The smallest is know as "cannulicchi". A single cannoli is know as a "cannolo" and will likely be the regular size portion found throughout Italy and the rest of the world.
Cannoli are a pastry dessert that is from Sicily. The oval shaped dough is wrapped around a ring and fried to create the shaped pastries. Once cooled, they are then filled with a delicious ricotta based custard cream. Additional cannoli filling flavors can be added like candied citrus peel, cinnamon, chocolate or fruit. Decorative accents like shaved chocolate or sprinkles can also be added on top to give the cannoli a decadent visual appeal. It is important that cannoli is served quickly as they can loose their "crispness" if left sitting with the filling inside.
Cannoli Cake Dessert
Just when you thought cannoli's could not get any better, another incredibly decadent and delicious Italian dessert is the cannoli cake. This two layer white cake has a heavy middle filled with cream cheese and ricotta. Usually flavored with orange and orange liquer and topped with creamy vanilla frosting, this dessert will have everyone asking for more.
Additional flavors like cinnamon and chocolate can be added as well. Cakes made from scratch always taste better and the cannoli cake recipe is a good one to try. Remember, anything covered in frosting will help hide any flaws in the layer thickness or overall shape of the cake and hold chocolate shavings.
Tiramisu Dessert
Today, out of all the Italian desserts, the most well known is Tiramisu. This popular dessert is made from biscuits or ladyfingers that have been soaked in coffee or liquer. These biscuits are then topped with layers of a whipped custard cream top and then are dusted with cocoa powder. The creamy custard filling is comprised of egg yolks, mascarpone (an Italian cream cheese) and is flavored with coffee and cocoa. Elegant and rich, tiramisu is a lovely way to complete a delicious meal.
Biscotti Dessert
Italian desserts such as biscotti is normally served with coffee or espresso today. It is a double baked cake that has made unique and desired. Originally from the province of Prato, biscotti has been enjoyed for centuries. These cakes were double baked to dry them out, thus allowing them to be stored for longer periods of time. The cakes were cut into slices right after the first baking and then baked again to establish the dry consistence that made them popular.
The traditional biscotti recipe was shown to the world at an exhibition in Paris in 1867. Winning a special mention, pastry chef Antonio Mattei used the re-discoverd recipe and it has now become the accepted recipe for biscotti. Made without yeast or fat, biscotti dough is created using flour, pine nuts, almonds and eggs. Modern interpretations of the recipe call for the addtion of baking powder and spices. Biscotti may also be dipped in a glace once baked for additional flavor.
Italian Cream Cake Dessert
The Italian cream cake is also known as Italian wedding cake, is another example of traditional Italian desserts. During Roman times, the wedding cake tradition was started. Guests would eat the cake only after it was broken over the bride's head (hopefully it was fresh). Other customs included throwing the cake at the bride to ensure fertility. Over the years, these customs evolved into the groom smashing a piece of cake into his bride's face and most recently a bride and groom will feed each other a piece of cake or smash it into each other's faces which then creates those wedding food fights.
The Italian cream cake is a three layer dense cake that somewhat resembles a carrot cake. Cream cheese icing is used between the layers and as the final exterior icing. Nuts such as walnuts or pecans are placed on the sides of the cake and on top for decoration. Many variations of the Italian cream cake can be found - there are slight differences on the seasonings and nuts used. The three cake layers and cream cheese icing remain consistent in all recipes.
Cookie Italian Desserts
There are a tremendous amount of Italian desserts that are cookie recipes but one type of dessert really stands out with its bright colors. However, two of the most popular and traditional cookies are the multi colorful five layer cookie and the seven layer cookie. The five layer cookie is also know as the Flag of Italy, the Venetian cookie or the Neopolian cookie. The seven layer versions are known as the seven layer cookie or the seven layer cake. The layers in the cookie replicate the colors of the Italian flag. Almond paste is used for the layers and food color is added to achieve the flag colors. Layers of apricot and raspberry jam are placed between the almond paste to create the five layers. Chocolate on both ends of the cookie creates the sixth and seventh layers.
Zabaione Dessert
Zabaione is a light, whipped custard dessert made with wine (usually Marsala or Sherry), egg yolks and sugar. Traditionally served with figs, modern recipes can call for adding fresh fruit like raspberries or chocolate. It can also be served with small cookies and other squares. Quite easy to make, Zabaione is best made with a double boiler as it's imperative to keep the temperature consistent and not too hot. Stirring with a whisk helps to enhance the whipped consistency of this Italian dessert. Rumored to have been around since the 15th century, Zabiaone is a great way to end a heavy meal.
We have just scratched the surface to Italian desserts, however the Italian desserts recipe pages will surely catch what is not talked about here.